William Mcewen
Level 1 (19 points)
Mac OS X

Q: What larger monitors work with the 15" vga G4 iMac

What larger monitors work with the 15" vga G4 iMac?

Posted on Dec 3, 2014 2:33 PM

by Allan Jones,Solvedanswer
Allan Jones Allan Jones
Level 8 (35,000 points)
iPad
A:

It is not so much how large but rather a question of resolution and how it would look on a larger monitor than the original.

 

All iMac G4 15-inchers supported: 640x480; 800x600; and 1024x768 at a fixed 4:3 ratio--no provision for widescreen. The old rule of thumb for decent clarity for 4:3 ratio CRT monitors was:

 

  • 15-inch monitor supports 640x480
  • 17-inch supports 800-x600
  • 19 to 20 inch supports 1024x768

I believe you would find the same issues with an older 4:3 flat-panel monitor.

 

Also the iMacs can only mirror the resolution set on the built-in monitor so you can't have the external one set differently nor use it for extended desktop. If you set the built-in to 640x480 (would look nice at 15 inches) you are going to get 640x480 on the external regardless of how big it is. On a 19-20 incher, 640x480 could start to look pixelated.

Posted on Dec 3, 2014 6:33 PM

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William Mcewen

Q: What larger monitors work with the 15" vga G4 iMac

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  • by Allan Jones,Solvedanswer

    Allan Jones Allan Jones Dec 3, 2014 6:33 PM in response to William Mcewen
    Level 8 (35,000 points)
    iPad
    Dec 3, 2014 6:33 PM in response to William Mcewen

    It is not so much how large but rather a question of resolution and how it would look on a larger monitor than the original.

     

    All iMac G4 15-inchers supported: 640x480; 800x600; and 1024x768 at a fixed 4:3 ratio--no provision for widescreen. The old rule of thumb for decent clarity for 4:3 ratio CRT monitors was:

     

    • 15-inch monitor supports 640x480
    • 17-inch supports 800-x600
    • 19 to 20 inch supports 1024x768

    I believe you would find the same issues with an older 4:3 flat-panel monitor.

     

    Also the iMacs can only mirror the resolution set on the built-in monitor so you can't have the external one set differently nor use it for extended desktop. If you set the built-in to 640x480 (would look nice at 15 inches) you are going to get 640x480 on the external regardless of how big it is. On a 19-20 incher, 640x480 could start to look pixelated.

  • by William Mcewen,Helpful

    William Mcewen William Mcewen Dec 4, 2014 5:05 PM in response to Allan Jones
    Level 1 (19 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 4, 2014 5:05 PM in response to Allan Jones

    I realize I can only get a mirror image from an external monitor with the G4, but I gather from your comment that I can set the G4 to 1024x768, which would be the suggested resolution for a 19" monitor and basically use the 19" for my wor4. While I have a recent iMac set-up, I have a couple of old graphic programs no longer available that I run on the G4 that I want to keep using but need the larger area to work in. Thus the struggle to keep this old set going. Thanks for your comment.

  • by Allan Jones,Helpful

    Allan Jones Allan Jones Dec 4, 2014 5:21 PM in response to William Mcewen
    Level 8 (35,000 points)
    iPad
    Dec 4, 2014 5:21 PM in response to William Mcewen

    I think that is a plan. And I fully understand your reasoning; I also have a newer iMac quad-core i7 but I keep a 2003 G4 PowerMac G4 MDD in service in a spare bedroom because it has a working install of Adobe CS2.